NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Thursday, May 6, 2021
Controversial former sheriff lands new police job
Former Grant County
sheriff Glenn Palmer
hired as marine deputy
with Sherman County
By JONATHAN LEVINSON
Oregon Public Broadcasting
JOHN DAY — Glenn Palmer,
the former Grant County sher-
iff who had a controversy-riddled,
20-year stint in offi ce, has taken a
new job as a marine deputy with the
Sherman County Sheriff ’s Offi ce.
Palmer lost his bid for a sixth
term as sheriff in November 2020.
The Sherman County sheriff ’s
marine patrol is a seasonal opera-
tion responsible for providing boater
safety services, doing boat inspec-
tions and conducting patrols along
the county’s stretch of the Hood
River.
“We advertised through the
newspapers and we advertised on
our website,” said Sherman County
Sheriff Brad Lohrey, who added it’s
not an easy position to fi ll. “We got
one applicant and that was him.”
The marine patrol is a part-time
position that is only staff ed Friday,
Saturday and Sunday from the end
of May to Sept. 1.
Palmer, a self-described “consti-
tutional sheriff ” who believes the
sheriff occupies the highest execu-
tive position in the county, made a
name for himself when he met with
leaders of the Malheur National
Wildlife Refuge occupation in 2016.
Palmer called the armed militants
“patriots,” even as they barricaded
themselves inside government
Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian, File
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, left, hugs former Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer in 2015 as they enter a meeting
with homeowners in Canyon City. Palmer, who lost his bid for a sixth term as sheriff in November 2020, has taken
a new job as a marine deputy with the Sherman County Sheriff ’s Offi ce.
buildings with a wide array of weap-
ons.
During his tenure, Palmer also
deputized his brother, along with
nearly 70 other Grant County resi-
dents without law enforcement
training, refused to enforce state gun
laws, and allegedly used his power
to intimidate people who challenged
him or his political viewpoints.
Numerous complaints have
been lodged against Palmer since
2016. He briefl y off ered his resigna-
tion in 2019 after a retired Oregon
State Police trooper fi led an ethics
complaint alleging Palmer had
failed to return his stolen property.
Palmer quickly rescinded his resig-
nation and stayed in offi ce.
In August 2020, the Oregon
Department of Public Safety and
Standards declined to take action
against Palmer stemming from that
complaint.
Other complaints allege Palmer
and his department had a policy of
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
FRIDAY
Breezy this
afternoon
| Go to AccuWeather.com
SATURDAY
Mostly cloudy,
breezy and cooler
SUNDAY
Some sun with
winds subsiding
MONDAY
Considerable
clouds
Mostly sunny and
nice
Wolves killed two calves near Keating
Hunter reports
attack in rural
Baker County
By JAYSON JACOBY
Baker City Herald
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
81° 45°
64° 40°
67° 46°
66° 45°
70° 42°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
85° 47°
68° 41°
72° 51°
71° 48°
OREGON FORECAST
76° 46°
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Seattle
Olympia
56/43
82/43
79/41
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
81/46
Lewiston
64/45
88/47
Astoria
57/45
Pullman
Yakima 87/50
63/41
89/52
Portland
Hermiston
66/46
The Dalles 85/47
Salem
Corvallis
60/41
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
82/44
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
64/43
73/36
83/41
Ontario
89/53
Caldwell
Burns
81°
40°
70°
44°
95° (1966) 29° (1982)
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Albany
61/41
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
73/45
0.00"
0.18"
0.20"
1.46"
0.56"
4.19"
WINDS (in mph)
91/50
82/39
0.00"
0.26"
0.17"
3.82"
5.30"
5.28"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 80/42
63/44
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
HERMISTON
Enterprise
81/45
74/47
78°
39°
68°
44°
96° (1966) 29° (1904)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
66/42
Aberdeen
82/42
78/47
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
66/46
Today
Fri.
WSW 8-16
WNW 7-14
WSW 12-25
W 10-20
not enforcing restraining orders. A
DPSST investigator determined the
allegations were outside the agen-
cy’s jurisdiction.
Boaters from Portland and
along the Columbia River Gorge
this summer might interact with
Deputy Palmer, who has recently
taken to social media to make fun
of Black hairstyles, mock Presi-
dent Joe Biden’s stutter, undermine
COVID-19 restrictions, and spread
misinformation about vaccines. On
BAKER CITY — Wolves
from the Keating Pack in
Baker County killed a pair
of 2-month-old calves on a
public land cattle grazing
allotment north of Keating
Valley last week.
Brian Ratliff, district
wildlife biologist at the
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife’s (ODFW)
Baker City offi ce, said his
investigation on Friday,
April 30, showed ample
evidence that wolves killed
the calves.
“It was a classic case (of
wolf depredation),” he said.
“It was pretty straightfor-
ward.”
Ratliff said a hunter who
reported the attack — not the
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
72/33
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
5:35 a.m.
8:09 p.m.
4:00 a.m.
3:07 p.m.
New
First
Full
Last
May 11
May 19
May 26
June 2
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 100° in Needles, Calif. Low 14° in Willow City, N.D.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
May 2, the day before starting in his
new role, he called Democrats “the
enemy in our midst.”
Eighteen percent of Sherman
County voters and 30% of neighbor-
ing Wasco County voters are regis-
tered Democrats.
Palmer did not immediately
return phone calls seeking comment.
Palmer’s social media activ-
ity, however, walks a fi ne line with
Sherman County department policy,
which restricts what can be said in
an offi cial capacity or while repre-
senting the department.
“I will look into it,” Sheriff
Lohrey said. “I haven’t looked at
his Facebook page, if he has one, in
forever.”
Lohrey said checking social
media is part of the department’s
normal hiring process, but he wasn’t
sure if Palmer’s had been reviewed
by the undersheriff who oversaw the
hiring.
Lohrey has also come under fi re
for his own social media use. In
2018, he took to the department’s
Facebook page to post a photo of a
local activist who had angered the
jail commander when she placed
a protest sign next to her table at
a restaurant where the two were
eating.
In the post, Lohrey called the
activist’s actions disgusting. She
soon after received death threats
against her and her children.
At the time, Lohrey said he
would only take the post down if
she apologized.
Palmer started training with the
Sherman County Sheriff ’s Offi ce on
May 3 and will start patrol Memo-
rial Day weekend.
rancher who owns the calves
— was driving through the
allotment on the morning of
April 30 and saw one dead
calf and a wolf standing on
it.
The hunter texted Ratliff ,
who arrived at the spot later
that day.
Ratliff said he found two
dead calves about 40 yards
apart. The calves were born
this winter and were among a
herd of 57 cow-calf pairs that
were moved to the allotment,
managed by the Bureau of
Land Management, on April
16.
Based on the absence of
any evidence that scaveng-
ing birds had fed on either
carcass, Ratliff said he
believes wolves killed the
calves either late on April
29 or early on April 30.
He said there were “strug-
gle scenes” and wolf tracks
around each of the calves.
Ratliff said both carcasses
had bite marks that, based on
their location and depth, are
consistent with wolves rather
than smaller predators, such
as coyotes.
Ratliff said he also found
splotches of blood on vege-
tation that was still standing
and had not been trampled.
That’s further evidence
that the calves were attacked
while alive, he said, because
when bloody vegetation is
not matted, it means the
animals were standing when
they bled.
Ratliff said blood on fl at-
tened vegetation, by contrast,
is consistent with wolves or
other predators dragging a
carcass, or part of a carcass,
across the ground before, or
while, feeding on it. In that
case it’s possible that the calf
died from another cause and
that the predator only fed on
the carcass.
The Keating Pack consists
of eight wolves, according
to the annual wolf report
ODFW released in April.
IN BRIEF
IInslee: No new COVID-19
restrictions in Washington
for now
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington Gov.
Jay Inslee on Tuesday, May 4, said all of the
state’s counties will remain in their current
phase of the state’s economic reopening plan
and won’t face more restrictions because new
COVID cases are leveling off after a recent
spike.
Inslee said there will be a two-week pause
as the state continues to evaluate coronavirus
activity in Washington.
The surprise announcement came as
several more counties were expected to roll
back to Phase 2 of the plan, which includes
reduced capacity for indoor dining and gyms,
based on case counts and hospitalizations. But
Inslee said the most recent weekend data from
the Department of Health shows coronavirus
activity reaching a plateau in the state.
“The approach to this pandemic, there’s no
real playbook for COVID,” Inslee said. “We
are making very diffi cult decisions based on
the best science we have.”
Currently in Washington, just four of the
state’s 39 counties are in the more restrictive
Phase 2: Cowlitz, Pierce and Whitman, which
were rolled back from Phase 3 last month,
and Ferry County, where health offi cials on
April 30 voluntarily moved back because of
a recent outbreak.
In Phase 3 restaurants, bars and gyms can
operate at 50% capacity. At Phase 2, that’s
reduced to 25%.
— Associated Press
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